Simmons Prepared Foods announced on Wednesday plans to build a new $300 million chicken processing facility between Decatur and Gentry that will create 1,500 new jobs.
The announcement was made at Simmons Great Hall at John Brown University, and was attended by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and County Judge Barry Moehring, along with officials from state agencies, and city officials and chamber of commerce members from Siloam Springs, Gentry and Decatur.
"We're thrilled to bring this project to our community and are grateful for the cooperation of the Cities of Decatur and Gentry, local officials, Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the State of Arkansas," said Todd Simmons, CEO of Simmons Foods Inc. and Affiliates. "This project positions us to continue meeting our customers' needs."
The 315,000-square-foot facility, located on 870 acres of land near the intersection of Arkansas Highway 59 and Y City Road, is scheduled to begin production in 2019 and reach full capacity in 2022, according to a press release from the company. The facility will include best-in-class environmental technologies and 40,000 square feet of contemporary office space, the release states.
"If (employees) are able to work inside a workplace that is the best in the food industry, we feel like they'll do their best in providing quality safe food products," Simmons said. "As we grow 'our put people first value' will continue to be more and more important."
The new plant will have the capability of producing more than 800 million pounds of fresh and frozen poultry per year, the release stated.
"Let me underscore the statistics for a moment," Hutchinson said. "This is 1,500 new jobs, it is a retention of 800 new jobs that are the current facility in Decatur that were at risk of being lost if we did not win this facility in Arkansas. It is a $300 million investment, which when you take all of that together, this is the biggest job announcement that I've ever seen in the poultry industry, it's the biggest job announcement that I've seen since I've been governor, and it is the biggest jobs announcement in my memory here in Arkansas."
The new facility will increase the need for contracts with local growers and the company also plans to increase starting pay at production facilities later this year, the release said.
"The plant that Todd Simmons is going to be building here is state-of-the-art, it's going to be environmentally friendly, it's going to maintain a commitment to a way of life that we have in Northwest Arkansas as well as creating these jobs," Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson noted that Simmons Foods celebrated a ribbon-cutting for its new pet food ingredients facility in Siloam Springs just two months ago. The pet food facility created 78 new jobs and is estimated to have a $50 million economic impact on Arkansas, the press release states.
Simmons Foods currently employs 3,700 people in Arkansas and 5,800 people overall, the release stated. The company is a leading supplier of poultry, pet food and feed ingredients. Its current Decatur facilities include a feed mill, hatchery, propane business, business offices, chicken processing facility and a dry pet food production facility.
Overall, the company operates three hatcheries and two feed mills, which supply nearly 300 independent poultry growers and more than 20 company-managed farms. The company currently has six processing plants that produce 750 million pounds of finished product per year for customer brands around the world, the press release states.
General News on 10/01/2017